ALEX Cooper saw enough during four years at Liverpool to know that anything is possible in football.

He saw the top young talents who faded to nothing but also the weaknesses that still exist even in those who do make it to the big time. It is a lesson that guides the young Ross County winger – whose father, Neale, is now assistant manager at the club – in life and in football. It is also one which has steeled the 21-year-old ahead of a visit to Celtic Park today.

Cooper is full of admiration for Celtic's super-human efforts against the likes of Barcelona but he knows Neil Lennon's men are still only mortal. He has shown frailty himself when ankle ligament injuries stole a year from his development as a bright young thing at Anfield. Ultimately, he was released in the summer last year before showing signs of progress again upon his return to boyhood club County.

After making his league debut against Kilmarnock in early September the same injury struck again but last weekend against Dundee, Cooper impressed on only his second competitive start. If he is selected again today, Cooper will step out against the Parkhead side with no great sense of inferiority.

In many ways, he has been given a second chance in football. Still young, but with an eventful six years behind him since that £150,000 move south, and Cooper is still seeking to establish himself in the game. "Everyone has their ups and downs, I suppose, but I've had quite a few already in football. Even though I'm still 21, I've seen the pitfalls in the game," he said.

"It is a ruthless business. There are a lot of friends – past England youth internationals – who are now out of the game, those I really thought were destined for something. But I've also seen the rewards on offer for certain players. If you can do well at football, there can be great reward and fulfilment in your career. So I'm just working as hard as I can and hoping I can reap the rewards down the line.

"I don't look back negatively at Liverpool at all. It was a great experience and learning curve. I made some very good friends like Gary Mackay-Steven [now at Dundee United]. We lived beside each other in digs. I also played alongside guys now doing well with Liverpool in the Premiership, like Andre Wisdom, Jon Flanagan and Suso. They were all good lads and it is good to see them doing well, playing for a top team in one of the biggest leagues in the world."

Just as his dad broke through early at Aberdeen, Cooper's Liverpool experience began just after his 16th birthday. Leaving the family home, he had to mature quickly. "Having a friend like Gary, who is from Caithness, in the same boat helped me a lot down there," he said. "You learn a lot as an individual living away from home at an early age.

"On the football side, the standard is so high that it pushes you every day. You suddenly find you don't get as nervous when you play with these good players and you soon see that the top players are human as well. It is easy put them on a pedestal sometimes, when they are only human like yourself."

Cooper, who played against Celtic's Welsh full-back Adam Matthews while representing Scotland schoolboys, knows how tough a prospect Parkhead team will be. But he travels south with optimism.

"Celtic have beaten Barcelona and now they have a wee team called Ross County coming down from Dingwall," he said. "But we have a lot of good players. You never know in football what can happen."